Djokovic knows what’s needed to get back on track after Dubai defeat

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  • Work to be done: Novak Djokovic has been short of matches so far this season.

    Novak Djokovic failed to defend a title for a second time this season but his three-set loss to Roger Federer on Friday is not making him hit the panic button just yet.

    It’s only the second time in six years that Djokovic has been unable to reach the final in Dubai and the Serb also lost in the Australian Open quarter-finals, where he was hoping to capture a fourth consecutive title in Melbourne.

    He is now more than 4,000 ranking points behind Rafael Nadal but says he knows what he needs to do to get back on track in the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami this month.

    “I haven’t repeated the success I have had in the last year, maybe the year before that, but look, it’s normal in sport,” Djokovic said.

    “You can’t always expect to do well in certain tournaments.

    “When you lose against a better player, you shake hands and that’s it. You move on and try to take the best out of it.

    “Right now I know what I need to work on. I’m going to try to get as much match play, and replicate these kind of situations, in practice. Hopefully I can do well in USA.”

    Djokovic has played only eight matches this season and he was denied a clash this week when Mikhail Youzhny pulled out of their quarter-final to give him a walkover into his match with Federer.

    “I haven’t had many matches this year, and you could see that on the court. I still lack that consistency in my movement,” he added. “Look, I lost to Roger. That’s not a bad loss. I know I’m not fully satisfied with my game. I’m going to work on it and try to get better in the next one.

    “He deserved to win. He played in the second part of the match better and was more aggressive and played all around the court really well.”

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